Unplugged Computational Thinking (CT) Activities for Scalable and Inclusive STEM Education: a study across two developing countries, Malaysia and El Salvador

Unplugged Computational Thinking (CT) Activities for Scalable and Inclusive STEM Education: a study across two developing countries, Malaysia and El Salvador | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Unplugged Computational Thinking (CT) Activities for Scalable and Inclusive STEM Education: a study across two developing countries, Malaysia and El Salvador Tze Ying Sim, Mario Rafael Ruiz Vargas, David Alas Valle, TamilSelvan Ramis This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8720651/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Purpose: To examine unplugged computational thinking (CT) activities structured around a 3Ps framework (puzzles, problem-solving, programming) as a scalable and equitable approach to STEM education in two developing-country contexts (Malaysia and El Salvador). The study focuses on overall effectiveness, cross-country comparability, gender equity, and the roles of STEM interest and positive emotions in CT-related performance. Methods: Pre-university students from Malaysia and El Salvador participated in an 18–20-hour unplugged CT workshop comprising 10 activity sets organized around puzzles, everyday problem-solving tasks, and programming concepts (selection, loops, flowcharts, debugging). A common pre-test and post-test instrument assessed performance in the three 3Ps domains, along with STEM interest and self-reported mathematics and science grades. Positive emotions were measured post-intervention using a modified version of the Differential Emotions Scale. Because achievement data violated normality assumptions, nonparametric tests were used: Mann–Whitney U tests for gender and country comparisons, Wilcoxon signed-rank tests for pre–post changes, and Spearman correlations for associations with STEM interest, prior grades, and positive emotions. Results: Wilcoxon analyses showed significant overall gains, with higher post-test scores in puzzles and programming concepts, but no improvement in problem-solving scores. Mann–Whitney tests indicated no significant differences in total scores between Malaysia and El Salvador, suggesting that the unplugged CT intervention functioned similarly in both contexts. At pre-test, males outperformed females in problem-solving, whereas females outperformed males in programming; these gender differences were no longer significant at post-test. Mathematics interest and grades showed modest positive associations with pre-test performance, and science interest was weakly related to post-test scores, whereas other STEM interests showed small, mostly non-significant correlations. Positive emotions were generally unrelated to achievement, apart from a small positive correlation between interest and puzzle performance and a small negative correlation between serenity and total post-test score. Conclusion: Findings indicate that unplugged CT activities based on the 3Ps framework can improve CT-related performance in puzzles and programming and operate equitably across two developing-country settings, while contributing to the reduction of initial gender gaps. At the same time, the lack of gains in problem-solving highlights the need to redesign open-ended, writing-intensive tasks and their assessment to better capture students’ capabilities. The limited role of most positive emotions, alongside modest effects of interest and STEM background, suggests that core cognitive and instructional design factors may be more critical drivers of CT outcomes in under-resourced contexts. The study supports unplugged CT as a viable, low-cost strategy for inclusive STEM education and highlights the value of longitudinal, mixed-methods research to understand how such interventions can more effectively support complex problem-solving over time. Computational Thinking Computer Science Education Developing Countries Education Technology Educational Programs STEM Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8720651","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":605659790,"identity":"77f45b49-aeea-4bd0-bb7d-c6f4659e26c1","order_by":0,"name":"Tze Ying Sim","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA80lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYLCCBCDmR+XiATwwNZINJGkBAYMDxGqx5z98TOLhjlp74/NnzB7z1Bxm4GfPMWC62YbPlmNpEolnjiduu5Fjbsxz7DCDZM8bA+ZcfFoYe8wkEtuOJZjd4DGTzmE7zGBwI4eAFmb+byAt9sb9Z4Ba/h1msCeohY2HDailhnEDQ46ZdG4b0BYJQlrOsBlbJLYdSJxxI61M+m9fOo/EmWcFh3PO4dbC3n/44c2fbXX2/P2Ht0nO+GYtx9+evPFxThluLUDAIsHAcBjGaQZH1AFGNrxamD8wMNTBODDGH7xaRsEoGAWjYGQBABesTulUNZKWAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Sunway University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Tze","middleName":"Ying","lastName":"Sim","suffix":""},{"id":605659793,"identity":"dec85a3c-809c-4025-ab46-ff307a6da3c8","order_by":1,"name":"Mario Rafael Ruiz Vargas","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Francisco Gavidia University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mario","middleName":"Rafael Ruiz","lastName":"Vargas","suffix":""},{"id":605659795,"identity":"47b1a1b9-c735-4b7f-8c7c-b53d59294228","order_by":2,"name":"David Alas Valle","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Francisco Gavidia University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"David","middleName":"Alas","lastName":"Valle","suffix":""},{"id":605659804,"identity":"836b3c9e-a085-4da6-8960-33d66af5dcf9","order_by":3,"name":"TamilSelvan Ramis","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Sunway University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"TamilSelvan","middleName":"","lastName":"Ramis","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-01-28 12:23:42","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8720651/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8720651/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":104808782,"identity":"d46d5b39-9230-4702-a38c-2cc1344274f8","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-17 12:39:58","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":367042,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"MalaysiaElSalvadorCTDISER.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8720651/v1_covered_45deb0df-9155-4199-b873-f7c761dc1f28.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Unplugged Computational Thinking (CT) Activities for Scalable and Inclusive STEM Education: a study across two developing countries, Malaysia and El Salvador","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Computational Thinking, Computer Science Education, Developing Countries, Education Technology, Educational Programs STEM","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8720651/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8720651/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePurpose:\u003c/strong\u003e To examine unplugged computational thinking (CT) activities structured around a 3Ps framework (puzzles, problem-solving, programming) as a scalable and equitable approach to STEM education in two developing-country contexts (Malaysia and El Salvador). The study focuses on overall effectiveness, cross-country comparability, gender equity, and the roles of STEM interest and positive emotions in CT-related performance.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMethods:\u003c/strong\u003e Pre-university students from Malaysia and El Salvador participated in an 18–20-hour unplugged CT workshop comprising 10 activity sets organized around puzzles, everyday problem-solving tasks, and programming concepts (selection, loops, flowcharts, debugging). A common pre-test and post-test instrument assessed performance in the three 3Ps domains, along with STEM interest and self-reported mathematics and science grades. Positive emotions were measured post-intervention using a modified version of the Differential Emotions Scale. 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Mathematics interest and grades showed modest positive associations with pre-test performance, and science interest was weakly related to post-test scores, whereas other STEM interests showed small, mostly non-significant correlations. Positive emotions were generally unrelated to achievement, apart from a small positive correlation between interest and puzzle performance and a small negative correlation between serenity and total post-test score.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConclusion:\u003c/strong\u003e Findings indicate that unplugged CT activities based on the 3Ps framework can improve CT-related performance in puzzles and programming and operate equitably across two developing-country settings, while contributing to the reduction of initial gender gaps. At the same time, the lack of gains in problem-solving highlights the need to redesign open-ended, writing-intensive tasks and their assessment to better capture students’ capabilities. 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